-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- We are in the middle of a fight to preserve the dignity and grace that makes all of us Americans . We have big hearts and great souls . I know . I have seen them , felt them and watched them in wonder when my family was lost and unreachable in the wake of Hurricane Katrina .

I cried , worrying for those I loved , heartbroken by what happened to our beloved Louisiana . And in the middle of that tough moment , the decency of people shone through in e-mails , phone calls and in person . Everybody was saying the same thing : `` How can I help ? ''

This is what we do in times of struggle . We offer our hand and our love to pull someone up who 's been knocked down by hard times and despair . It 's just a fundamental rule in life and in any fight ; you do n't kick people when they 're down .

But for some reason , this principle has been lost on the 217 members of the House of Representatives who decided to lace up some combat boots with rough , crushing soles to kick and kick again the 48 million Americans who count on food stamps .

I am not going to mince words . When the House voted to cut $ 40 billion to the food stamp program over the next 10 years , that was n't an example of government tightening its belt or making tough choices . That vote was n't a philosophy or an ideology about governing . Pure and simple , it was a heartless act . It was cruel . It was kicking millions of our families , neighbors and friends when they are down . And the people who work for a living in this country are down .

Let 's take a walk through the facts of what 's happened to them during the Great Recession and this nonrecovery of the economy .

The median family net worth dropped from $ 126,400 in 2007 to $ 77,300 in 2010 , according to the Federal Reserve . It gets worse . Median family income fell from $ 49,600 in 2007 to $ 45,800 in 2010 . -LRB- These are the latest available figures -RRB- .

`` The Fed -LRB- Federal Reserve -RRB- found that middle-class families had sustained the largest percentage losses in both wealth and income during the crisis , limiting their ability and willingness to spend , '' according to The New York Times .

For 30 years , wages have flat-lined or declined for most workers , particularly in the past 10 years , as low-paying jobs replace middle-income paying jobs . In 2009 , only half of the country had any assets , and those numbers have gotten worse during the last three years .

And here 's the kicker . Today -- based on wage levels -- half of Americans live in poverty or near poverty . The gap between the well-to-do and everybody else is widening alarmingly .

Probably everyone reading this knows someone who is striving mightily , working two jobs and cutting expenses to the bone while barely making ends meet .

To be considered poor by federal standards , a family of four must make less than $ 23,550 a year . A person must make less than $ 11,490 . For the unemployed and the millions who have been looking for work for six months or more , the struggle is many times harder and uglier .

Ask any worker at Starbucks , Cosi , McDonald 's or Walmart , `` How many jobs do you have ? '' and likely he or she will tell you : `` Two . '' I know colleagues who 've had breakfast at one store , and gone to lunch in another , only to find the same person waiting on them .

One young woman I heard about gets up at 4 a.m. for her first job and ends her day at 10 p.m. at her second job . The average allotment of food stamps is $ 133 a person a month . Let me tell you something I can pretty much bet my house on -- that woman is not using her food stamp card to buy lobsters and caviar . She 's quietly going to the food pantry , checking the sales in the grocery store , spending some time at the kitchen table clipping coupons and making a serious plan to turn that box of pasta , pound of beef , and if she 's lucky , some fresh fruits and vegetables , into a meal plan truly worthy of a Gucci belt .

Is there fraud ? Yes . Is there some waste ? Yes . But today , the food stamp program has an error rate of only 3 % -- and those errors were mostly committed by the government in underpayments as well as overpayments and payments to ineligible families .

Fraud is a piece of grain compared with the millions of families who manage to put food on the table because of this program . And those few bad apples who do commit fraud are no excuse to kick the unemployed and the poor when they are engaged in a mighty battle to get themselves and their families back on their feet .

So shame on this Congress for fighting dirty during working people 's hour of struggle .

Polls show Americans have n't approved much of Congress lately . But there is a way to gain favor . If this Congress wants to make cuts , why not look at the Pentagon , notorious for waste ? Or check out the Department of Agriculture , which made about $ 28 million in inappropriate farm assistance payments , according to a compilation of government waste reported in Business Insider .

Or perhaps lawmakers could start with themselves ? Rep. Jackie Speier , D-California , tried to shame her colleagues into cutting less from the food stamp program -LRB- called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , or SNAP -RRB- .

Speaking of representatives who would vote to take food from America 's tables , she said , `` Some of these same members travel to foreign countries under the guise of official business . They dine at lavish restaurants , eating steak , vodka and even caviar . ''

Speier talked about 20 members of Congress who traveled to Ireland and got a daily food allowance of $ 166 . The average amount a family member gets on food stamps is less than $ 4 a day .

And The Des Moines Register reported that Rep. Steve King , R-Iowa , received $ 3,588 in taxpayer funds for both food and lodging during a six-day trip to Russia . The Register urged King to try the `` SNAP Challenge '' and live on $ 4 a day . He could even try it in Russia .

Yet our representatives , one after the other , mostly Republicans , stepped onto the House floor to speak and vote in the name of saving money for the taxpayer . They went after the poor , the unemployed , the single mom , the single dad , the grandparents -- all those people who are trying to make it work .

Well , they did n't just do wrong ; they are wrong . I urge the Senate to restore every single dime to the food stamp program . I applaud the president for saying that he 'll veto these cuts .

We 're lacing up our shoes , too , but we 're going to fight these merciless cuts with the golden rule . You know why ? `` Do unto others '' trumps `` kick 'em when they 're down '' every time . The American people are decent and fair . It 's time to stand tall for this essential program for millions . It 's time and our might will make this right .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile .

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Donna Brazile : Americans are generous and help people who are down on their luck

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Brazile : Lawmakers will take food from poor Americans by cutting food stamps

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Half of American live in or near poverty , she says , and food stamps help stave off hunger

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Lawmakers should cut their own lavish expense accounts for steak and wine , she says